Topline
Reports of police officers in Brazil blocking key highways and pulling over buses filled with voters on the way to the polls Sunday gave rise to allegations of voter suppression, amid a tense presidential runoff election between Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsanaro—nicknamed “Tropical Trump”—and leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that could steer the country in dramatically different directions.
Towels with the images of presidential candidates Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are … [+]
Key Facts
On Sunday, dozens of reports circulated online that Brazil’s Federal Highway Police had set up illegal roadblocks to pull over vehicles and question drivers across several Brazilian states, particularly in the northeast, which is considered a leftist stronghold.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the head of the country’s election agency, has ordered the highway police chief to prove officers weren’t violating election rules to help Bolsonaro in the election, according to the New York Times (the previous day, officials directed police to hold off on traffic stops that could keep voters from polls).
The highway police had stopped more than 550 buses across Brazil by Sunday afternoon, an anonymous federal highway officer told the Times, citing internal data (during the first round of voting earlier this month, the agency stopped nearly 300 buses, he said).
Moraes told a reporter Sunday that despite interruptions by police, election officials’ preliminary investigation found all the buses reached polling stations, saying they “didn’t have any voters who didn’t vote because of the operations.”
Moraes also said Sunday afternoon police agreed to stop the operations, according to the Washington Post.
Moraes opted not to extend voting hours in Brazil’s polls, which closed at 5 p.m. local time, or 4 p.m. EST.
What To Watch For
The results of Brazil’s elections. Because it’s the only country in the world to have all-electronic elections, the results will be released relatively quickly compared to other nations’ elections. The election is expected to be extremely close: As of 6:15 p.m. local time, Bolsonaro led Lula 50.7% to 49.3% with around 39% of precincts counted.
Key Background
Tensions were high in Brazil on Sunday amid the second round of voting for the next Brazilian president. Right-wing Bolsonaro, a close ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has hinted he may not concede if he loses and has floated unfounded allegations of election fraud. He is challenged for a second term by Lula, who served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and is running on a platform that includes increasing taxes on Brazil’s wealthiest citizens along with raising the minimum wage and boosting social programs. He has also pledged to push back against deforestation and end illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon, while Bolsonaro has advocated for even more mining, ranching and farming in the environmentally sensitive region. Bolsonaro has campaigned on tax cuts, lowering Brazil’s crime rate and opposing abortion.
Tangent
Lula is able to run for president after his 2018 conviction on corruption and money laundering charges was thrown out last year. Prosecutors said Lula took more than a million dollars in kickbacks in exchange for contracts with government subcontractors, but his supporters say the large-scale investigation that swept up the former president was rigged.
Further Reading
Brazil Elections: Trump-Backed Bolsonaro Faces Former Leftist President Lula—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)
Brazil highway police blockades fan voter-suppression fears (Reuters)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/10/30/brazil-election-police-accused-of-pro-bolsonaro-voter-suppression-in-high-stakes-presidential-race/